*{RUE}*

“Wow.” I adjusted the suitcase at my side. “Months without seeing your stepsister, and that’s the welcome I get?”

“You know you shouldn’t be here,” Damon groaned.

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I am.”

Pushing forward, I dragged my box beside me like a shield and pressed my free hand against the solid warmth of his bare chest.

I shoved him just enough to clear the doorway, then squeezed past before he could stop me.

Leaving my suitcase behind the door, I strode deeper into the apartment, my sneakers whispering across the tile floor.

I dropped into his familiar, worn armchair in the sitting room, the leather creaking softly...